Gut Microbes Can Split a Species 68
sciencehabit writes "The community of microbes in an animal's gut may be enough to turn the creature into a different species. Species usually split when their members become so genetically distinct — usually by living in separate environments that cause them to evolve different adaptations (think finches on different islands) — that they can no longer successfully breed with each other. Now researchers have shown that a couple groups of wasps have become new species not because their DNA has changed, but because the bacteria in their guts have changed — the first example of this type of speciation."
meaning (Score:2)
"Don't breed" means "don't breed normally". In the absence of better mates they will breed like rabbits.
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but when either [of the other two species] mates with N. vitripennis, almost all male larvae in the second generation die.
Not quite the picture I have in mind for rabbits.
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"Almost"
You know what happens when those that do not die survive and go beyond next generation?
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Why, no, why don't you enlighten me?
Anyway, I don't know if there's the data to say that the survivors have a specific genetic trait that allowed for their survival, or if they just got lucky due to environmental factors, so as of yet I'm not sure it could be said if the population would then take off or continue to sputter. Do you know differently?
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Jurassic park + Godzilla = Bad things happen.
Very. Bad. Things.
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Pacific Rim?
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I don't think sex determination in hymenoptera works the same way as in mammals. Their genetics is a little weird.
Samantha Wright would know I'm sure, but she seems to be absent at the moment.
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Yes, I wish she would show up in more stories about biology. Surely there are more biologists here, though.
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So, I guess I am a biologist, for what that's worth, though I usually hang out in the neuroethology / biomech side of things. However, back from the days when I thought I was going to be a statistical geneticist* I seem to recall that hymenoptera are haploid/diploid, which is to say that males only have a single set of chromosomes, whereas females have two.
Which leaves me a little confused to what exactly they did, as haploid offspring usually only have a single parent... (And something is totally messed up
Re:meaning (Score:5, Funny)
I work with hermaphroditic slugs, for instance. ..)
That's not a nice thing to call your coworkers. I'm sure they are very hard working people. And it's very rude nowadays to call their sexuality into question. Sure, the guys may be a little fem, and the women may be butch, but they still have feelings, you insensitive clod.
And what's with the Picasso smiley, with both eyes on the same side of the face?
Sex determination (Score:2)
Do we even know that these wasps have their sex determined by genetics? Certainly the whole XX vs XY is how humans do it, and I think most (all?) mammals follow the same pattern. But I believe in crocodiles it's determined by the gestation temperature of the eggs - those on the outside of mound become male while those in the center become female (or is it the other way around? I forget). And as we wander even further across the tree of life it seems reasonable to assume that the way our species does thing
Re:meaning (Score:4, Informative)
The whole idea of a species barrier is not actually that well defined in biology. It gets tossed around a lot, but there is not a hard and fast set of agreed upond definitions of what it means. If you have critters that can breed and produce viable offspring, but under normal circumstances will not because of timing or other issues, are they separate species? Or, for another instance, there are these lizards where successive groups of them occupy a more or less crescent shaped space. Each group can breed with the ones nearest it, but the ones at each end of the crescent can't breed with eachother.
Even if it's ill defined, it's a hard concept to entirely escape from, because breeding pools, and diversity both within and between different breeding pools are pretty hard to get away from. But in the community I don't see people getting particularly excited about the term species nearly as much as I see us getting excited about what is actually going on on the ground.
Nothing new here. (Score:5, Funny)
"I hate your guts" has always been a contraindication for breeding.
Re:Nothing new here. (Score:5, Funny)
"I hate your guts" is just a polite way of saying, "You have extraordinarily odorous flatulence."
That's why dogs sniff each others' butts, to see if they are compatible as mates. Humans could learn from dogs, and instead of a quick chat during speed dating, just take a quick whiff of each others' butts.
That's why evolution placed the sexual organs so close to the anal orifice. You're forced to check gut bacteria compatibility, before you mate.
Unless you're prude, and just do missionary in the dark, with your clothes on.
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Oh thanks for that really great advice...
Anyone knows a good lawyer for a sexual harassment suit?
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Yes, I just sniffed one's butt in the elevator at the courthouse yesterday, and I have her name on the police report. I'll get it for you once my bail is paid.
Does anyone know a good bailbondsman?
Re:Nothing new here. (Score:4, Funny)
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So that's what the actors and actresses who engage in fellatio and cunnilingus on camera are doing for money. And I though all those movies had no scientific merit. Now I can proudly say they are forced to check gut bacteria compatibility, before they mate.
Big Deal (Score:2)
So, gut bacteria can make mating incompatible. What's new?
It's an artificial problem for the concept of "species", an outdated notion. Get it together, biologists.
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Self-improvement requires guts? (Score:2)
Inability to breed is NOT a qualification (Score:3)
Inability to breed is not a qualification for a species boundary.
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My point is that two separate species (and even Genus) can be sexually compatible and the summary is implying that it is part of the requirements for determining species boundaries.
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My point is that two separate species (and even Genus) can be sexually compatible and the summary is implying that it is part of the requirements for determining species boundaries.
Your point is wrong, because it is part of what's used to determine what is and what isn't the same species. If you want to argue that the definition of species is outdated and being eroded, that's fine.
MEN IN BLACK will be a reality very soon (Score:1)
What makes a human (Score:4, Interesting)
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It's entirely correct to consider homo sapiens (and all higher order animals) as mobile parts of the biosphere. Our thoughts may be independent of it, but our bodies are not.
Even our thoughts... Some microbes influence our mind. Take toxoplasmosis, for instance, which is known to have mind controlling features.
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At least that explains the riots rationally.
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Beyond the pond (Score:4, Funny)
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gumbo more likely.
after all, mcd you can get anywhere(and thank god for that so you can get something to eat in a pinch somewhere where you can only find fried bugs otherwise)
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Yep. I had to go to Italy once for a business trip, at first I was all excited for Italian food. But it's not even as good as what you'd get at Olive Garden, and I got sooo sick of it every day. By the end I was pretty much living off Big Macs.
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We actually loved the food in Italy (except for the lack of potatoes, of course). Lots of starches, lots of veggies, plenty of fish, light on
Darwin's Radio (Score:2)
Reminds me of Wolbachia (Score:4, Interesting)
Wolbachia is a bacterial genus believed to infect up to ~90% of all insect species. It spreads rapidly through populations by allowing infected females to breed with any individual while infected males can only breed with infected females (the bacteria is passed on mother-to-child). Furthermore, many species actually depend on Wolbachia to become sexually viable, and in a few the bacteria actually induce the insects to undergo parthenogenesis (reproduction with females only).
Even now, Wolbachia is migrating north through California's fruit fly population. Last year I heard it had reached the Sacramento area.
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So with any luck, it will stop the California Legislature from breeding?
Great news for the other 49 states! :)
hawk
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And it probably accounts for (Score:2)